Wednesday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 3/27/2013

Income grew 3.2% in Florida in 2012

Florida's personal income grew 3.2 percent last year, above the inflation rate and another sign the state is emerging from the Great Recession, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Wednesday. Florida's total personal income, which includes wages, dividends, interest and government benefits, increased to $775 billion in 2012, up from $755 billion in 2011. More at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Outdoor recreation generates 330,000 jobs in Florida

From taking airboat rides to paddling a canoe in the waterways, Florida residents and visitors create jobs and bring income to the state. Outdoor recreation generates nearly 330,000 jobs and $10.7 billion in wages in Florida, according to a study released Tuesday by the Outdoor Industry Association. More at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Report: One in six kids has unemployed parent

Business Profile

Olive My Pickle

Shai and Charlotte Tzabari are in the olive and pickle business. They also sell hummus, grape leaves and a few other items. But they’re also part of the growing number of entrepreneurs whose businesses wouldn’t exist if it were not for the recent explosion of farmers markets. Operating at a small industrial park on St. Augustine Road, they sell their products out of barrels and under tents from Flagler Beach to Amelia Island.

It's not a secret that the national economic crisis has affected nearly every American family, but economists and researchers are now finding ways to quantify how it has affected children specifically. The most recent staggering number from a new study: More than one of every six American kids has a parent who is unemployed or underemployed. More at the Orlando Sentinel.

New condo tower planned for downtown Miami

Miami’s new condo boom has spawned plans for yet another tower – this time a highly urban design set in the city’s Central Business District with no parking for residents. Developer Harvey Hernandez’s Newgard Development Group is planning to build a 36-story, 352-unit condominium tower at 151 SE First Street. More at the Miami Herald.

Florida airports rank among worst for kids

It appears some Florida airports aren't very kid-friendly. Orlando and Miami international airports recently made TravelNerd's list of the 10 worst U.S. airports for kids based on extremely high passenger volume and zero dedicated spaces for children. The consumer travel website ranked Miami No. 5 and Orlando No. 6. More at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Out of the Box Work under way to digitize Florida records from the 1500s

Inside a Catholic convent deep in St. Augustine's historic district, stacks of centuries-old, sepia-toned papers offer clues to what life was like for early residents of the nation's oldest permanently occupied city. These parish documents date back to 1594, and they record the births, deaths, marriages and baptisms of the people who lived in St. Augustine from that time through the mid-1700s. They're the earliest written documents from any region of the United States, according to J. Michael Francis, a history professor at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.